Subscribe to Scientific American to learn and share the most exciting discoveries, innovations and ideas shaping our world today.

Halloween is scary, what with all the costumes and the ghosts and the amount of sugar in candy corn. Do you know what else is scary? Algebra, what with all the numbers and the rules and the math. So a ...

Math may not be everyone’s favorite subject but when it comes to matchstick puzzles, few can resist giving it a try. At first ...

In our recent puzzle “ The Wanderer’s Return ,” I wrote an intuition-based solution to avoid hairy algebraic calculations.

While each product featured is independently selected by our editors, we may include paid promotion. If you buy something through our links, we may earn commission. Read more about our Product Review ...

A graphic artist is testing everyone’s knowledge of algebra and spot-the-difference skills with a pictograph math problem that assigns numbers to different fruits. Gergely Dudás, of Hungary Budapest, ...

Tristan and Layla subdue the Great Pumpkin, greater Ozark is saved from the big squash. The post Math Puzzle for October 31, ...

A seemingly impossible math puzzle, discovered stuck to a tree by a passing hiker, has left the internet well and truly stumped. Despite living in an increasingly digital world, math remains something ...

Halloween is scary, what with all the costumes and the ghosts and the amount of sugar in candy corn. Do you know what else is scary? Algebra, what with all the numbers and the rules and the math. So a ...